Oxford United may go into tomorrow’s encounter stranded at the bottom of the League Two table without a point, but Daggers boss Wayne Burnett believes they present a far tougher test than the table suggests.

Daggers' Luke Howell is congratulated after having the shot which deflected into the goal off Matt Bevans of Oxford United for the opening goal. Pic: Dave Simpson/TGSPHOTO

The U’s poor run of form stretches back to last season under Gary Waddock and a 1-0 defeat against the Daggers, thanks to Matt Bevans’ ‘freak’ own goal.

They have lost 11 of the last 12 games in total, but this season’s four defeats have all come by the odd goal.

And despite the defeats, Burnett knows his side will be in for tough challenge tomorrow, especially after the U’s pushed Premier League side West Brom all the way before losing on penalties in the Capital One Cup.

“Oxford will be tough and their position in the table isn’t a fair reflection on how they’ve performed,” said Burnett.

“We have had them watched twice by someone and from what I’ve seen and heard they have played well in all the games but unfortunately they haven’t had a goalscorer to take any of their opportunities.

“They’ve seen what their problems have been and they’ve addressed that with the signing of Will Hoskins who is a very good player for this level so I am sure we will be in for a tough game.

“They showed how good they were to push West Brom all the way in the week and we are under no illusions at how tough it is going to be.”

But while wary of the U’s, the Daggers go into the match in some good form. They’ve secured back-to-back 2-0 wins over Hartlepool United and Mansfield Town.

Even prior to that thought their performances were not too bad in the defeats to league leaders Morecambe and Burton Albion.

However, with the two wins under the belt, Burnett feels he’s got a side full of confidence.

“It’s encouraging to get the wins but the performance levels have always been good,” he added.

“I thought for 70 minutes we were good at Burton and then the first 45 against Morecambe.

“It’s not been too far away but what has been good is that we’ve had two clean sheets as well going into the Oxford game.”

If Daggers can pick up a win tomorrow, it will be the first time they have recorded three wins on the bounce since their opening three fixtures of the 2009/10 promotion-winning season.